


Santa's Helper

by shomarus



Series: Twenty-Two Angels to Defend Me [19]
Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 17:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13081317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shomarus/pseuds/shomarus
Summary: Therese dresses up for a day.





	Santa's Helper

**Author's Note:**

> a v ridiculous concept because i Really Need This
> 
> unrelated to the story, but i'll be watching the carol stream tonight (information [here](https://cate-blnchett.tumblr.com/post/168106291716/since-every-gay-and-their-mother-adores-carol)) so if you're gonna be there too, i'll say hi! :0
> 
> thank you for reading!!

The elf costume was scratchy, but at the very least, it wasn’t as bad as the bushy white beard that had originally been presented to her. It’d take a little bit more acting skills to play out as Santa’s favourite helper, but Therese was fairly sure that she could pull it off. For Rindy, she reminded herself solemnly, and stepped out from their room.

Carol clapped her hands together. “Look at you! Don’t you look like a darling.”

She couldn’t help but to smile sheepishly. Carol urged her to spin around so that she could see, so Therese did. A ridiculously bright green costume that was adorned with red stripes and ends, complete with the silly green hat that jingled as she walked.

“You should have dressed up as Santa,” Therese pointed out with what was intended to be annoyance, but the amusement crept into her voice anyways. “That way I wouldn’t have to suffer with my half-baked improv skills and this stupid elf costume.”

“I told you that you didn’t have to do it if you didn’t want to,” Carol laughed. “The implication that I can pull off a convincing Santa is hilarious, though. Call me in about thirty years, then we’ll get talking! But something tells me that Rindy won’t be believing in Santa at that point.”

Rindy was already getting to that age where the promises of Santa’s fakery were just a whisper on the playground, but something that would definitely be solidified if she was given just a year more. Therese was unsure how Carol must have felt. As much as she personally cared about Rindy, she was no mother, and she hadn’t watched Rindy grow up from newborn to the smart little ten year old that she was now.

“It’s kind of silly, isn’t it? I mean, she probably knows it’s me. She will, anyways.” Therese didn’t know how far she was willing to go for a one-day gag.

“Just pretend that you’ve been Santa’s helper all along?” Carol suggested.

“Well.”

They could hear the shuffling coming from Rindy’s room, and that’s when the adrenaline kicked in, a feeling of peculiar excitement that made Therese feel like a kid again. “Should I… Oh, I don’t think we really discussed this far. What do I do? Just put away this gift?” She held her own wrapped present in one hand, shook it awkwardly.

“Yes. Into the living room, I’ll distract her for as long as possible to make it look authentic.” One wink and a good luck kiss later and Carol was ushering Therese by the tree they set up earlier in the month. Giddy was her smile, stretched wide and amused. She could hear Rindy and Carol’s little conversation from where she stood, where Therese tried to occupy herself with the tree, moving the gifts that she’d wrapped up. She had bought Rindy an anthology of her favourite poems and tried to wrap it when Carol was at work (the keyword here being tried, for Therese was a mess with scotch tape and wrapping paper). Though she didn’t know much if Rindy would like it, she’d been told that she was a good reader, so… Well, she’d deal with that when she had to.

“Hello, snowflake!” Carol called out jovially. “How was your night?”

“Good,” Rindy replied with a much sleepier tone of voice. Therese imagined her bed head, her hair mussed every which way, and she smiled at the thought. “Is breakfast ready?”

Carol’s tone turned nervous. “Ah, well, Therese is working on that right now…”

“I can help!”

“Well…”

Therese heard the shuffle of feet and Rindy’s giggle, presumably as she attempted to get by Carol who blocked the doorway. Therese kneeled down and felt the ridges of the book’s pages. She never thought that she’d be buying a gift for Rindy of all people, not when she’d first seen the bright-eyed little girl, or heard about Harge’s ridiculous demands for sole custody. Yet here she was.

“Therese?” Rindy called out with a rather surprised look. She could only imagine how she must have looked to a child, dressed up like _this_. “You look funny.”

“You’ve caught me!” Therese frowned. “Carol, you were supposed to cover for me!”

“I tried!” Carol protested, and Therese could see the way her mouth twinged, that she was trying desperately not to smile. Therese had to restrain her own grin, but at the very least she had the cover of the tree.

Rindy piped up. “What’s going on?” Then, she gasped with realization. A good thing too, because admittedly, Therese didn’t quite have the foresight to think about how she was going to push this little facade. “You’re dressed up as one of Santa’s helpers!”

“That’s because I am.” Therese sprung up from where she’d originally been kneeling and crossed her arms over her chest in a way that (she hoped) made her look more impressive than what she was. Well, y’know, jingling hat and all. “Santa can’t have his eyes everywhere, don’t you know?”

Rindy couldn’t quite contain her excitement. “Oh! Oh!! What does this mean? I’ve been _really_ good all year!”

“So the others have told me!” Therese beamed. “Rest assured, by the time Christmas rolls around, you’ll have quite a bit of stuff to open.”

Carol finally allowed herself to smile, and Therese caught her gaze for just a few seconds to smile back. This was silly, probably the silliest and most childish thing Therese has done the entire year, but she was happy.

“I’ll get the camera?” Carol proposed, because of course they hadn’t bought this ridiculous outfit so that they couldn’t get any photos in either.

Therese nodded her head, and the bell at the end jingled.


End file.
